Sorta Small Saturday Notebook: Red’s Platform, House and the 3-Point Contest, Jamal Crawford Should Still Die of Gonorrhea and Rot in Hell

• A bunch of news about injuries today, but nothing really new, except for perhaps Doc Rivers conceding in the Globe that Paul Pierce is not quite 100 percent yet after having fluid drained from his knee:

“Paul’s just not right, yet,’’ Rivers said. “He’s better. But he’s your closer and when your closer’s not right you’re looking for scoring.’’

Before the start of this week, I think there was genuine reason to be concerned that maybe the knee wasn’t recovering as well as they would have liked. The fact that KG is back working out and they’re targeted a return date is a positive sign. Now, if that return date starts sliding and we don’t see KG until February, sound the alarm.

On Doc possibly overplaying the starters, even in blowouts:

I’ll agree that the Celtics seem to be a bit cautious this season, even with a big lead. Rajon Rondo stayed out there on the court when New Jersey made an initial charge in the third quarter Wednesday. Probably wasn’t necessary, but I’m sure no coach wants to see a 30-point lead whittled away.

On whether he thinks TA has secured a spot on the rotation even after Daniels returns:

I do, particularly because of his defense.

More from Chris, after the jump….

On the possibility of assistant coach Tyronn Lue becoming the C’s back-up point guard:

I still think this team would benefit from a backup point guard. And I remain convinced it’s Tyronn Lue (eventually).

Editor’s Note: I remain dubious of the Lue possibility.

On the lack of minutes lately for Shelden:

If I had to guess, the honeymoon is over. You know how every player sort of gets a burst of energy when they first get traded or sign with another team. I think he’s still valuable at the end of the bench, but as his minutes diminished, so did any confidence he had built early in the season.

Ed. note: I totally agree, and to clear up some confusion, there are no restrictions to the C’s dealing Shelden and his near-$900K expiring deal.

• Red’s Army has the video of Doc and Pierce at the dedication of what will now be called Red Auerbach Concourse at North Station.

• CelticsBlog has two videos—one shot indoors, one shot outdoors—in which Eddie House promotes himself for entry into the three-point shootout during All-Star weekend. Not helping Eddie’s cause: The fact that his three-point percentage this season (37.1) would be his lowest over a full season since ’03. Hopefully Eddie catches fire again, as he did around this time last season.

• CB’s Greg Payne, helping to hold down the fort while Jeff Clark is on vacation, tells us all that patience is the right attitude with which to approach the team’s current struggles (4-6 over the last 10 games). I think we’re all with Greg on this one.

• Finally, the reason for the last part of the this post’s title: Jamal Crawford, who has signed a pact with Satan himself, made another monster shot last night for Atlanta—a buzzer-beater to beat Phoenix:

Stop it, Jamal. Just stop. Crawford has been the king of false clutchness over the last decade in the NBA, building up a highlight reel of clutch shots simply because he hogged all of them during his time with the Knicks. He actually shot terribly in clutch situations. Really, there is evidence and everything.

Now Crawford is playing more 4th-quarter minutes (about 11 per game) than any player in the entire NBA and making big shots on a regular basis.

This will not last. This cannot last. Jamal Crawford will hurt Atlanta in an important game by hogging the ball and taking contested 20-footers. Right?

And just to explain: The joke in the headline (which I used last week as well) is a reference to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and not an expression of real, actual hatred toward Jamal Crawford. He actually seems like a sweet guy who is unusually reflective in his interviews. I wish him the best of luck. Just not against Boston.

There was a much more bizarre ending to that Hawks game which every C fan should know about for future reference.

First a disclaimer. The Suns are my favorite team in the west because I love the action & yes, I love Nash –especially his passing & ball handling (sorry, but it is the same level of love that I have for Rondo). Nash has blood pouring from his face, broken teeth, etc., & he is like the black knight from python, ‘it’s just a flesh wound. come on you sissy.’ Nash could have an axe embedded in his skull with blood soaking his jersey to where you could not read his number, and he would still be pushing the ball down people’s throats. That reminds me. Please Rondo take that 1 thing from Nash. Get the ball up FAST & look for opportunities / mismatches even if the defense APPEARS like it is getting back. Sometimes the defense is confused by the speed, & you will get smalls guarding bigs down low or even have 2 guys guarding 1 guy in the corner (or something weird like that). Sometimes, there is nothing, but now you have more of a shot clock to set things up. There is a great reason why Nash gets that ball up the court=looking for ez points. Bringing the ball up at the speed of a pregnant, overweight, crippled snail only helps the defense.

Back to the Jamal lesson. With like 6 seconds to go Josh Smith missed a free throw. 2 Suns went up into the air & crashed into each other knocking each other to the ground. Jamal was just in the right place at the right time (nobody else was even close). He grabbed the ball & went straight up (even though they were down by 3) & lightly dunked it. Amare gets fouled at the other end & hits 1out of 2 free throws with 3 seconds left. The Hawks had one 20 sec time out to advance the ball to half court. Then Jamal hit the 3. So JAMAL HAD 5 POINTS IN 5 SECONDS. It was 5 seconds because he shot the 3 with 1 second left on the clock. The kid has got something going on. There is a reason why he is in there for the 4th quarter. That shot was a DEEP 3 without the heave /perfect form/swish–so you HAVE to guard him DEEP. You have to stay with him & above all don’t give up the 3. His preference seems to be 3 > drive the lane> shoot a mid range jumper. I wanted the Suns to win, but Jamal deserves major props. He pulled that game out for them really by himself.

http://www.celticshub.com Zach Lowe

@Bubbs–Yeah, the finish was ridiculous. Lucky break for ATL on the Smith missed FT bouncing off Nash and right to Jamal.

Cptn Bubbles

It seems like with trades that you need to look to the cellar teams & offer them #1 picks plus expirings. They usually are thinking building & future. That is how one of the greatest steals in history happened. Pau from the Griz to our nemesis. Were other teams making offers? I don’t know, but it shows that Danny should be like a relentless bulldog with offers which hugely favor the Cs. Even though they are lopsided, you never know when another Griz moment might occur.

I look around the league, & I wonder most about the Wiz. Gilbert looks done there. If the team flounders around in last place I think they might disband it. My favorite pickup for the Cs there is BRENDAN HAYWOOD. None of the Cs is avging over 10 rebounds. He brings 7′, rebounds, some points, & 2 blocked shots per game. When I have watched him, he also alters/ intimidates a lot of shots & clogs that lane on D. There is some real defense & rebounding (even offensive) there.

I like Jamison, but he is almost double the price & the same height as a lot of our other would be rebounders.

I also like David Lee because of his persistent, gritty hustle. He is a double double machine & plays hard, but the Knicks are not stupid.

Word on my two favorite teams in the NBA. I like the suns for one reason. You can probably appreciate the fact that the only NBA game that I have gone to ever (at least with legitimate seats) was the Phoenix/Boston game this year at Phoeniz and happened to be the worst game of the year to watch Boston I am convinced (No Pierce, KG, or Baby). It was still fun to watch Scal’s pre-game antics and watch the future of the celtics warm up. Except for Rondo who was not practicing free throw prior to the game which he should be doing.

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